Alliance Of Independent Authors | Self-Publishing News June 24, 2025 | With Dan Holloway

Romance Drives Fiction Boom and Audiobooks Surge: Self-Publishing News with Dan Holloway

'Tis the season to celebrate audiobook growth, it seems. So what better way to mark the solstice—when the city is full of folk dancers and the countryside is full of all manner of people doing all manner of things to mark the longest (or shortest, depending upon your hemisphere) day—than to report on yet another set of industry figures that points to the health of the audio market?

June 24, 2025
Dan Holloway
News
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New Speakies Awards Spotlight Indie Audiobooks; Spotify Reports Double-Digit Growth: Self-Publishing with ALLi Featuring Dan Holloway

On this episode of the Self-Publishing News Podcast, Dan Holloway reports that audiobook growth continues across major English-language markets, with Spotify claiming a 30 percent rise in listeners and a 36 percent increase in listening hours year over year. Dan also explores Spotify’s evolving role in the audiobook industry, the launch of the new UK-based Speakies Awards open to indie authors, and a troubling trend reported by the Wall Street Journal—AI-generated search summaries may be reducing ad revenue by diverting clicks away from content creators.

Double-Digit Audiobook Growth Returns; Dark Genres Rise; Publishers Embrace Direct Sales: Self-Publishing with ALLi Featuring Dan Holloway

On this episode of the Self-Publishing News Podcast, Dan Holloway reports a return to double-digit audiobook growth in the U.S., with revenue up 13 percent and over half of Americans now having listened to an audiobook. He also breaks down new data showing a shift in reader tastes toward darker genres—especially psychological thrillers and dark romance—and reflects on how traditional publishers are just now catching on to the power of direct sales and loyal fan bases, something indie authors have long embraced.

Apple Ruling Opens iOS to Direct Book Sales; AAP Calls for AI Cooperation; Audiobook Growth Continues: Self-Publishing with ALLi Featuring Dan Holloway

On this episode of the Self-Publishing News Podcast, Dan Holloway explains how a major legal ruling against Apple is changing the landscape for in-app purchases, with Kindle, Patreon, and Spotify now enabling direct book sales on iOS. He also covers a call for cooperation between publishers and tech companies from the Association of American Publishers, and reports strong Q1 growth in audiobook subscriptions from Nordic platform Storytel.